Clean Water Systems Fleck 9100 Installation manual

Clean Water Made Easy
www.cleanwaterstore.com
Fleck 9100 Softener Installation &
Start-Up Guide
Thank you for purchasing a Clean Water System! With proper
installation and a little routine maintenance your system will be
providing filtered water for many years.
Your new system comes with a printed Fleck Service manual, which
along with this start-up guide will help guide you in the installation and
start-up of your new system.
The Fleck service manual covers other types of systems as well such as water softeners and filters, so there
may be information in your Fleck service manual that does not pertain to your system. Please review this
start-up guide entirely before beginning to install your system and follow the steps outlined for best results.
Questions?
Call us toll-free: 1-888-600-5426 or 1-831-462-8500
Email us: [e-mail]
See more information on our website: www.cleanwaterstore.com/resources

Fleck 9100 Softener Installation & Startup Guide
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Table of Contents
Packing List ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
Pre-Installation ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Best Practices for Piping & Drain Installation........................................................................................................ 4
Fig 1 ............................................................................................................................................................... 5
Adding Media & Installation Instructions.............................................................................................................. 6
Attaching the brine tubing to the brine solution tank & the Fleck 9100 brine valve ........................................... 7
What to Do If Your Filter Tank Does Not Sit Level on the Floor............................................................................ 8

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Packing List
Model Size: 1.0 Cubic Foot Softener:
Quantity Description
1 Fleck 9100 backwash control valve & bypass valve and two top screens
1 Pipe connector kit (either 1”or ¾”)
2 10” x 44” filter tank with distributor tube
1 Media funnel
1 1 cubic foot boxes of Softener resin media
1 Brine solution tank
Model Size: 1.5 Cubic Foot Softener:
Quantity Description
1 Fleck 9100 backwash control valve & bypass valve and two top screens
1 Pipe connector kit (either 1”or ¾”)
2 10” x 54” filter tank with distributor tube
1 Media funnel
2 One 1.0 cubic foot box + one ½ cubic foot box of Softener resin media
1 Brine solution tank
Model Size: 2.0 Cubic Foot Softener:
Quantity Description
1 Fleck 9100 backwash control valve & bypass valve 1 and two top screens
1 Pipe connector kit (either 1”or ¾”)
2 12” x 52” filter tank with distributor tube
2 Two 1.0 cubic foot boxes of Softener resin media
1 Brine solution tank
Model Size: 2.5 Cubic Foot Softener:
Quantity Description
1 Fleck 9100 backwash control valve & bypass valve 1 and two top screens
1 Pipe connector kit (either 1”or ¾”)
2 13” x 54” filter tank with distributor tube
1 Media funnel
5 Two 1.0 cubic foot boxes of Softener resin media Plus one ½ cubic foot boxes of Softener filter media
1 Brine solution tank
1 35 lbs Gravel
NOTE: filter gravel is only used in 2.5 cubic softener tanks and larger

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Pre-Installation
1. Review your packing list and make sure you have received all the parts before beginning installation.
2. If you are going to be turning off the water to the house and you have an electric water heater, shut
off the power to the water heater before beginning installation in case water heater is accidentially
drained.
3. Pick a suitable location for your filter system on a dry level spot where it won’t be exposed to freezing
temperatures. A minimum of 20 PSI is required. Maximum pressure is 90 PSI.
4. Get all of your plumbing parts together before beginning installation. Installation typically takes 3 to
5 hours. However after installation the Water softener must be allowed to run through a complete
backwash and rinse cycle (also called ‘regeneration’). You don’t have to be present for this first
backwash necessarily, but it does take 90 minutes.
5. After the system is installed and running, you may notice sediment or color in your water. This occurs
when sediment that is has been in the pipes for years is dislodged by the soft water or by the simple
act of turning the water pressur on and off to the house. This rarely lasts for more than a few hours
to a few days but if you have old galvanized iron pipe and the rust or color does not stop after a few
days it may mean that your pipes are corroded or deteriorated.
Best Practices for Piping & Drain Installation
1. See typical installation (see Fig 1). The water softener is installed after the pressure tank.
2. Make sure to connect the inlet pipe to the Fleck 9100 inlet and the outlet to the outlet (see Fig 2).
You can see the in and out arrows on the bypass valve which is where the pipes are connected.
3. Make sure there is a working gate or ball valve before the water softener and also one after as shown
in the diagram. If you are installing multiple filter systems (such as iron filter then water softener)
you do not need a valve in between each system. The pressure gauges are optional and not
necessary but a hose bib (which is a faucet that you can attach a garden hose to) is strongly
recommended after the water softener before the second ball valve. This makes it easy to rinse your
new softener on start-up and gives you a place to test the water before it enters your household
plumbing.
4. If you will be using copper piping, do not sweat the copper pipe directly on to the Fleck 9100 bypass
valve. Avoid heating up the bypass valve with the torch.
5. You do not need unions to install your water softener. If you need to remove it, the Fleck 9100 has
quick-release couplings on the bypass valve that make it easy to put the water softener on by-pass
and remove the filter system from the piping.

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6. The drain line tubing (not supplied) is connected to a drain from the drain outlet using flexible ½” ID
tubing. Note that the drain can run up above the Fleck 9100 control and into a drain, it does not
have to drain down, as the filter backwashes under line pressure from your well pump. Most
plumbing codes require an air-gap connection, so that if your sewer or septic tank backs up, it cannot
cross connect with the drain tubing.
7. Usually you do not want to water the garden or irrigate your landscaping with softened water. This
will require more salt than usual to be used and in some cases the sodium can build-up in the soil
causing some problems to sensitive plants.
8. It is often not difficult to run hard water (not-softened lines) to the irrigation thereby bypassing the
water softener. If you do want to irrigate with soft water we recommend you use potassium chloride
salt (widely available) instead of regular sodium chloride (water softener rock salt). Any type of salt
though can be used in the water softener.
Fig 1 - Typical water softener piping installation with ball valve and hose bib after the filter

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Adding Media & Installation Instructions
1. Unscrew by hand the Fleck 9100 control valve from top of the tanks if it was shipped screwed on.
Place distributor tubes in tank if not already inside tanks. If not already done, make sure blue cap is
on top of distributor tubes, or wrap the top of distributor tubes with electrical or duct tape. The idea
is we do not want gravel or resin to go down the distributor tube when you are adding media.
2. If your system came with filter gravel, add it first using the funnel sent with the water softener.
Divide gravel equally between tanks. No gravel is needed unless tank is 1354 or larger.
3. Next add softener resin media. Tank will be approximately 2/3 to 3/4 full. Divide resin provide equally
between tanks.
4. Remove cap or tape from top of distributor tube. Be careful not to pull up distributor tube when
removing cap or tape.
5. Attach plastic top screen to the under-side of the Fleck 9100 control valve. It is a funnel-shaped
plastic screen that snaps on to the control valve and prevents resin from being backwashed out to
drain during the regeneration cycles.
6. If possible, at this point, fill tank completely with water. This will allow the softener resin to settle
and eliminate the need of “purging” the air out of the tank later.
Plug or tape top of distributor tube to
prevent media from entering. Remove
cap/tape when finished

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7. Add a small amount of vegetable cooking oil to the tank threads and screw on Fleck 9100 control
valve carefully. Alternatively you can use silicone grease, but do not use pipe-joint compound, Teflon
tape, or Vaseline or other petroleum greases to lubricate tank threads.
8. See how the Fleck by-pass is connected. There are in and out arrows on the bypass valve for the inlet
and outlet pipe. Install inlet and outlet piping, drain tubing and brine line tubing. The brine line tube
is included and is shipped inside the brine tank.
Attaching the brine tubing to the brine solution tank & the Fleck 9100 brine valve
9. Begin by sliding the plastic brine injector nut on to the brine tubing by putting the tubing through the
non-threaded side of the nut. Next, slide the black (or clear) compression ring on to the tubing with
the narrower diameter going on first. Then slide the taller, white compression ring on to the tubing
with the wider diameter going on first. The two compression rings should lay flesh against each other
on the tubing. Slide them in to the brine injector nut and place the brine tubing into the brine valve.
Finally, push the brine injector nut, which now has the compression rings inside of it, on to the
threading of the brine valve and rotate the nut clockwise, screwing it on to the brine valve. Tighten it
down to finger tightness. The tubing should be firmly attached and not slide out if pulled on.

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10. Note that the over-flow fitting on the side of the brine tank does not need to be connected, unless
the softener is installed in a closet or somewhere where overflowing salt water could cause a
problem. Water rarely overflows from the brine tank however.
11. Add approximately 5 gallons of water to brine tank, then fill brine tank about 2/3 full of salt. It is OK
to use any kind of water softening salt; however we find that extra coarse salt works better than the
pellets. You do not have to add water to the brine tank again after this first time during the start-up.
12. Close the valve after the water softener. Connect a garden hose to the hose bib after the softener
and open hose bib. Turn on the water to the softener and allow the water to run out the garden
hose until the water is clear.
13. See the Fleck 9100 Service Manual for instructions on how to program and set softener. Your Fleck
9100 is already programmed for the size tank you have, but you do need to set the current time of
day and program the water softener with your water hardness. When programming add 2 or 3
grains of hardness to your water hardness as a safety measure if you have iron in the water.
14. Start a manual backwash by pressing and holding the Extra Cycle button for 5 seconds. After softener
has been regenerating for 20 minutes, look inside the brine tank, and you should see that is has
sucked out the brine. At the end of the regeneration (90 minutes) check to make sure that the
softener has added water to the bottom of the brine tank to make brine for the next regeneration
cycle.
What to Do If Your Filter Tank Does Not Sit Level on the Floor
Your black filter tank base is not glued to the bottom of your tank. Occasionally tank bases will become
crooked during shipment. If you find that that your tank does not sit level on the floor, you can easily adjust it
by holding the empty tank and rapping it on a concrete or solid floor once or twice in order to level it.